Itchy and Scratchy and Marge (20 Dec. 1990)

Marge becomes a crusader against cartoon violence after watching 'The Itchy and Scratchy Show'.

Directors:

Jim Reardon, David Silverman

Writers:

Matt Groening (created by), James L. Brooks (developed by),

Stars:

Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright

Cast

Episode cast overview:
Dan Castellaneta	...	Homer Simpson / Krusty the Clown / Animator #1 / Smartline Announcer / Italian Artist (voice)
Julie Kavner	...	Marge Simpson / Cartoon Squirrel (voice)
Nancy Cartwright	...	Bart Simpson / Nelson Muntz / 'Porch Pals' Itchy / 'Porch Pals' Scratchy (voice)
Yeardley Smith	...	Lisa Simpson (voice)
Harry Shearer	...	Scratchy / Animator #2 / Kent Brockman / Dr. Marvin Monroe / Commercial Voice (voice)
Pamela Hayden	...	Milhouse Van Houten (voice)
Maggie Roswell	...	Animator #3 / Reporter / Helen Lovejoy / Maude Flanders (voice)
Alex Rocco	...	Roger Meyers Jr. (voice)

Storyline

When Maggie attacks her father,Psycho-style with a mallet,Marge blames the violent TV cartoon series 'Itchy and Scratchy' and gets it banned. Children,released from the spell of constant television viewing,learn to play outdoors again. However when Marge refuses to condemn Michelangelo's David as obscene she is branded a hypocrite and the cartoon is restored.

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Plot Keywords:

psycho spoof | 2d animation | homicidal baby | reference to jane fonda

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Genres:

Animation | Comedy | Family

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 December 1990 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

20th Century Fox Television, Gracie Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Viewers often mix up Itchy and Scratchy's names. The way to tell them apart is that Scratchy contains the letters c, a, t.

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Quotes

Homer Simpson: Twenty million women in the world and I had to marry Jane Fonda!

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Crazy Credits

Michael Camarillo is listed twice under "Background Cleanup"

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Connections

References Wagon Train (1957)

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Soundtracks

"Symphony No. 6 'Pastoral'"
(uncredited)
1st movement 'Erwachen heiterer Empfindungen bei der Ankunft auf dem Lande (Awakening of cheerful feelings upon arrival in the country): Allegro ma non troppo'
Written by Ludwig van Beethoven

User Reviews

meta-simpsons

Hats off to the writers: Clever but not so much it spoils the humour. A violent cartoon about the effect violent cartoons have on their young audience. But rather than be preachy about it the writers have turned this into a decently balanced argument on the responsibilities of the artist and the legacy of their work. I'd like to think Stanley Kubrick would have quite liked this episode: he restricted public screenings of A Clockwork Orange after reports of copycat acts of violence. I haven't watched it in years but if memory serves this film shows the producers of the cartoons to be mindless, attention/money-grabbing immoralists who do not care if their product is damaging to young minds as long as they get rewarded. It also depicts some parents (Marge) as concerned moral guardians (not just unthinking religious or right wing zealots). The conclusion, that artistic freedom (aka freedom of speech) must be defended above all, even at the expense of our loss of innocence - is a stark but honest appraisal of violent stupid cartoons the world over. In fact, creaky and transparent though the episode is, its depiction of the innocence we have lost is moving and I can still remember how moved I was when I first watched it. I can't say that about many cartoons.